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[prof_cs]

Okay- Im having a rough semester. I am teaching 21 credits between two schools- long story with prior contracutal oblilagations and an offer I couldn't refuse. Anyway, during this rough semester despite how much prep time I put into classes and lab, it seems that I need to stick my foot in my mouth almost every class. Some little errors, like miscalculating, some larger, like showing them one machine while I am refering to another and having to be corrected by a student! Normally, I would brush this off as human error and just try harder tomorrow, but this semester it seems like no matter how hard I try my brain turns to mush by the end of the day and doesn't function as well as I would like or need it to. My superiors seem to brush it off as I am very open about laughing at my own mistakes if I mention something about it to them. But honestly, it is really starting to affect my self esteem and confidence in my ability to do this job and the perception that I am giving to the students. Please tell me that this stuff has happen to all of you...even if it hasn't, tell me it has....:)

[aardvark]

Yes, it's definitely happened to me.  Once you gain confidence as a teacher this stuff will roll right off your back; what you describe is really not a big deal and before long you won't feel like it's a big deal.  And once you gain that confidence this sort of thing probably will happen less frequently, as well.

Just last week I had a very humorous spelling error on a PowerPoint slide; all of my students are non-native English speakers and one of them rather proudly pointed it out to the whole class.  That kind of thing would've made me feel bad 8 years ago, but it was of no consequence.

[adhoc]

Well first, if you don't make mistakes in class, you're not trying hard enough.  But, you are doing two or three -- at least -- semester's worth of teaching in one.  So I would amend that to say that if you are not making mistakes on a daily basis, you are doing something wrong.

Hang in there.  It's almost April, the end of the semester is near.  If I understand your situation correctly, things will then get back to "normal" -- however that is defined in your new job -- after this semester.

But to answer your question, no, this does not happen to all of us.  That is beacuse few of us could even pretend to do what you are doing.  If we did, many of us would be in far worse shape than you are.

[prof_cs]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. I am considering backing off the ledge this evening now!

[dept_geek]

To echo the other comments, honestly, don't worry about it. Laugh at yourself. Give "wow thanks for catching that - great job" comments to your students (or be fun "I was just testing you - y'all are smart!"). Water on a duck's back and all that. Tonite, I was happily yakking away, and realized (after all the blank stares) that I was giving all my examples in the wrong langage (ones that were not close - but I am teaching on alternate eves). I told'em it was professional development. We all laughed. I re-did what I just said, only with the right language.

The only time it gets wrong is if you freak out. I found I'm a little less confused if I leave the text for the class I am teaching open & in front of me. Maybe some other reminders - like "no semicolons in this languge!". I also let me students know I just came from a class where we do "language X" and if get them mixed up, I'm really sorry - someone say something right away. Then they watch for the teacher to mess up :->

Like adhoc says, hang in there. May is coming.

[yellowtractor]

As Dept_Geek says, laugh at yourself in front of your students when you're caught in a mistake.  It subtracts the tension.

I have colleagues who believe in maintaining appearances at all costs, but I think you do more damage to your reputation with students if you try to bulldoze through or self-justify a mistake than if you simply admit it.  It's not about saving face on the playground; it's about doing your job.

At this point in the semester I'm apt to say just about anything in front of my students, due to general fatigue and spring allergies.  They've gotten to the point that they look forward to these moments of human weakness.  I've gotten comfortable enough in my role that it doesn't bother me.

[dr_evil]

Been there, done that, and I've felt much like you describe.  I've realized it bothers me more than the students, as long as it's something minor and/or it gets corrected.  It still gets to me, but I'm working on that.

[bibliologos]

I'm just about to deal with a big-time screw-up in my on-line class -- I gave instructions a few weeks ago for one of the assignments, then today gave a whole other set of instructions without remembering about the first set.  A student pointed it out to me.  So now I have to go and admit my mistake.  It happens to all of us!

[tamiam]

You know what, cs? If absent-mindedness is all they have to complain about, you're doing a much better job than most of their other professors.

Don't sweat it. You're only human, and they know that. I think that not expecting perfection of yourself makes you a much better teacher, because you understand that making mistakes doesn't mean that a person is stupid, or uncommitted to learning, or any of those bad things that bad teachers sometimes think about their students.

Now get some sleep!

[drsyn]

One semester, I was completely exhausted.  I kept making mistakes in class.  It was SO embarrassing.  But you know, the students really learned that semester.  (because they couldn't believe anything that I said.)  They were allways checking to make sure that they understood what I was saying.

One day, I couldn't work a problem.  The next class, a student said that he had figured it out.  I let him show the class how to do it.  He was very happy.  The class knew the problem was manageable.

I still cringe everytime I see a student from that semester, but I have self-esteem problems.  I am sure that you will do much better.  :)

Even though I have taught the course so many times now that the material is easy, I got mess up in class yesterday.  I said, ok, let's just let this problem go.  The students insisted that I finish it.  (Evil creatures that they are - I think they were enjoying it.)  But anyway, when I was done, three students asked questions that had never asked questions before.

I think that seeing me have problems gave them confidence to ask questions.  They could be sure that they weren't the only ones who didn't understand what I was saying.

[case_insensitive]

Bring a professor provides one with numerous opportunities to make a chump of oneself.

[yellowtractor]

Bring a professor provides one with numerous opportunities to make a chump of oneself.

Yes, and I've made a quality-of-life decision to enjoy them, when they arrive.

[conjugate]

Never done 21 hours; did 19 one horrid semester.  You're more than entitled to screw up a fair amount.  I'll echo the other posters' comments; just laugh off the mistakes.  If the errors are reflected in those vitally important teaching evaluations, feel free to make a big point of mentioning the circumstances in any opportunity you may have to "rebut" the evals.  We have to write a "reflective statement" (since that sounds nicer than "rebuttal) and when I get my evals for this semester, I intend to point out that I took an 8:00 AM class when I'm barely conscious at 8:00 AM because the department needed me to (scheduline SNAFU); and I suspect I'll do quite well on those evals, all things considered.

One response that works for me with arithmetic problems is to point out that the more higher math goes in one end, the more lower math is lost at the bottom end; so I can't balance my checkbook, since addition and subtraction are nearly lost to me now.  Soon, the times tables will have faded as I learn more about an advanced course I'm teaching that I've never taught before.

[englitprof]

Mistakes and otherwise, I finally accepted several years ago that I am a Dork.  I readily acknowledge to my students.  I also always get comments on evals about my approachability.  In other words: it's okay to be human. ;)

[infopri]

Yup, I've messed up plenty of times.  The students love catching me at it.  The worst was the time that I left the students so confused (from saying things incorrectly, then realizing my error and correcting myself, only to do the same thing again on another point 10 minutes later, all through class) on some complex material that I ended up redoing the entire lesson the following class--and the repeat lesson began with the words, "I want you to take your notes from Wednesday's class and throw them out.  We're starting over."  One student looked impatient, but the rest looked relieved.  I think they were happy to learn that the problem lay with me, not them.